From having an X Factor style competition to get the whole school excited to going on trips for inspiration, finalists share what worked well when they took part in the School We'd Like competition last year.

It can be difficult coming up with ideas off the cuff and one of the best things we did was take pupils to visit similar projects for inspiration. We knew we wanted an outdoor learning area, so we took small groups of students to sensory gardens. You got to see what they enjoyed and gravitated towards. They really loved a bird hide we went to, so we knew we needed to include a similar idea in our project.

I think we won because we thought carefully about how the garden could be sustainable – it has a workshop where pupils make items, such as bird boxes, that we then sell. It's important to think about the project in the long-term and how you're going to maintain what you build. We also focused on making sure it could be used by all abilities and in lessons for a range of subjects.

It's crucial to involve the students in every part of the competition and give them ownership of the school's entry. When we made the final, we put on a pre-competition event, where a panel fired questions about our presentation. It got a good buzz going in the school.Ifield Foundation Special School won the Special School category with their idea of creating a wildlife area with a workshop where pupils can make items for the garden.

It's really important to get the whole school on board. There aren't many projects where everyone can get involved and it's good opportunity to have different year groups working together.

One of our first steps was to ask all of the pupils what idea they'd like us to put forward for the competition in a questionnaire. We then narrowed the ideas down to a common theme and worked with a group of students to flesh this out. Once we had a good picture of our idea, we asked everyone what they'd like the student room to look like via another survey. We also gathered feedback when we presented the idea in an assembly.

Getting the whole school behind the competition created a really positive atmosphere. Opinions did of course clash, but we were clear that our decisions would be driven by what the majority wanted. We also explicitly set out at the beginning what the competition was about to minimise silly ideas.

With the presentation stage, I'd advise people to have a close look at the criteria and make sure every point is covered. Also, think about the bigger picture – what impact could your idea have in other schools?

Caister High School was a finalist with their idea of creating a vibrant workspace for quiet time, study and homework.

We probably took a slightly different route to other schools, as our peer mentor team had already identified a problem – due to the relocation of departments they'd lost their drop-in facility.

So, rather than a whole school project, the planning was driven by the inclusion department – learning mentors working alongside peer mentors.

Other parts of the school did get involved though. We invited interested pupils to join us for a brainstorming session on what they wanted and these ideas formed the basis of the initial application. The art department also created some artist impressions for us and our presentation was shown to different groups of pupils, who pretended to be judges.

Our project was very much led by our peer mentor team and it would have been helpful to share out the workload more. You need to give a lot of time to the process and it helps if it is overseen by a senior member of staff who can timetable it in to sessions. Also, schools need to be prepared to spend some money on preparing materials.

It was an exciting and enjoyable thing to be a part of – it felt very prestigious and the pupils were really proud of themselves. Although we didn't win, the sense of achievement was enormous. After the competition, the peer mentors were so determined to see the project through they began fundraising and will be opening a drop-in facility soon. These are the experiences that really stay with young people.Perryfields High School was a finalist with their idea of creating a peer mentor drop-in facility for students to talk about their problems and tackle bullying.

One of the reasons I think we got so far was because we worked really hard to think of an idea that would stand out. We didn't want to enter something that a lot of other schools would think of. It has to be unique.

We began brainstorming ideas with the school council and then presented the idea of a climbing wall to everyone in assembly.

To prepare for the finals we had an X factor style competition, where different people had a go at presenting the idea. They really loved doing this. It was a great way of building excitement and finding the right students to go to London.

Oaklands School was a finalist with their idea of building an outdoor climbing wall to improve student fine motor skills, coordination and self esteem.

And some advice from pupils at Horniman Primary School, which won the primary category with their idea of producing power at the school by pedalling stationary bikes.

DO• Plan to spend the money wisely• If you get one idea stick to it until you get a better one• Make sure your team mates aren't from another school – they might sabotage your ideas• Make sure your ideas are inventive – don't copy last year's• Be confident

DON'T• Have an idea that you won't be able to afford• Use the money on something else• Throw your idea out of the window, even if you think it's silly